1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to improvements to computerized systems for providing information to retail customers, and more particularly to advantageous aspects of a system and methods for mapping and conveying product location information to retail customers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Retail customers in a large retail establishment, e.g., a department store, often do not know precisely where within the store to find a desired item. In order to locate the item, the customer begins by attempting to guess in which department of the store the item is located. The customer then typically attempts to locate store personnel to ask directions or, alternatively, to locate a listing of departments, which is typically found proximate to an escalator bank in the middle of the store. Such a listing often takes the form of an alphabetical display board that simply lists the floor for each department. Even if a store map is available, the customer must find the map and then attempt to determine a path from his or her present location to the desired department.
It is apparent that the above systems for providing product location information to a retail customer suffer from numerous disadvantages. Directions are not easy to obtain if the department in which the item is located is not known, if store personnel cannot be located, or if the person found does not know a particular product""s location. Further, the customer may have difficulties in reading available maps and/or signage. This would be the case, for example, where the customer suffers from visual impairment or has limited English-language ability.
There is thus a need for an easy-to-use, computerized system for providing product location information to retail customers.
The present invention provides a system for readily conveying product location information to a retail customer. In one embodiment of the invention, a retail customer centers a request for the location of a selected retail item into a retail self-service terminal, which is connected to an in-store computer system having product location information stored thereon. Interfaces are provided between the computer system and the retail self-service terminal, the interfaces having access to database tables having stored therein additional product location information. The interfaces further include underlying way-finding logic for plotting a path between the retail self-service terminal and the retail item. The directions to the selected retail item are provided as an output at the retail-self service terminal. This output can take the form of text, audio, and graphical images.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent by reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.